State auditors criticized the watchdog of the child welfare system for sloppy paperwork and inconsistent policies and said the office’s perceived lack of independence is a hinderance.

The Child Protection Ombudsman Program was slammed in a state audit this week for failing to properly record how the staff reached conclusions on several case reviews and whether the person who made a complaint about the child welfare system was informed of the outcome.

The 3-year-old office is responsible for investigating county child welfare departments, as well as the state department, regarding the handling of child abuse and neglect cases.

The office has completed 490 reviews and five investigations since it opened. One investigation focused on the state child welfare division, while four involved county departments.

Colorado’s child welfare watchdog system is weaker than those in many other states. In Colorado, the office is under the supervision of a nonprofit agency — the National Association of Counsel for Children — but is funded by the state Department of Human Services, the same department that runs the child welfare system. It operates on a $504,000 annual contract.

Even people who ask the ombudsman to review county child protection investigations are cynical about the office’s relationship with the state, said ombudsman Dennis Goodwin.

“The question of independence is out there,” said Goodwin, who took the job a year ago after three decades in law enforcement. People ask him: “You guys work under their contract. How can you be impartial and objective?”

The ombudsman’s lack of independence — “either in fact or in appearance” — causes strain, the Office of the State Auditor wrote. The ombudsman is tasked with investigating the state and county welfare departments the state oversees. At the same time the state department “has control of the program contract and is the decision-maker as to whether the contract will be renewed and program staff will have a job.”

The conflict could make staff members hesitant to issue reports that reflect negatively on the department, although auditors found no evidence state child welfare staff had “infringed upon” the ombudsman’s independence.

Still, ombudsman staffers told auditors about their “unease” while investigating the state.

The ombudsman’s investigation into the state’s review of the death of 2-year-old boy found almost 100 inaccuracies and missing details about the decisions made by child protection workers before the child’s death. The boy’s mummified remains were found under a Sterling mobile home.

Caseworkers received at least three calls from people concerned about the boy, Caleb Pacheco, before he disappeared in January 2011. That month caseworkers returned him to his mother, who child protection workers knew had a history of drug abuse.

State child protection staffers told auditors their attempts to help create policies and rules for the ombudsman — which the state department is required to do under law — were met with pushback. The ombudsman’s office saw the input as infringing on its independence.

The legislature this year ordered the creation of a working group to study whether the ombudsman’s office should continue to operate under a state child welfare department contract. The committee, which has not yet been appointed, is required to report back to the legislature next year.

Still, auditors said many of their complaints about the ombudsman’s inadequate paperwork and procedures were unrelated to the office’s lack of independence.

Goodwin said the audit was accurate in finding that his office was unable to provide evidence that complainants, counties and the state were always notified of the review outcome or that reviews were not completed on time 18 percent of the time.

“I can tell you those complaintants were notified, but to show an auditor documentation of that in every case didn’t happen,” he said.

Goodwin said the disorganization stemmed from the fact the office was authorized to open by the legislature before it had time to write policies or create a database.

Auditors made five recommendations to improve operations at the ombudsman office. State Human Services executive director Reggie Bicha committed to putting the recommendations in place by April.

State Sen. Linda Newell, a Democrat from Littleton who sponsored the legislation creating the ombudsman’s office, said the new legislative-ordered work group will discuss the organizational conflicts that affect both the ombudsman and the state Department of Human Services.

“By statute, they are instructed to monitor each other,” she said.

“It’s definitely a statutory conflict, and that is one of the things we have to address in the work group.”

Christopher N. Osher is a reporter on the investigation team at The Denver Post who has covered law enforcement, judicial and regulatory issues for the news organization. He also has reported from war zones in Africa.

Jennifer Brown is an investigative reporter for The Denver Post, where she has worked since 2005. She has written about the child welfare system, mental health, education and politics. She previously worked for The Associated Press, The Tyler Morning Telegraph in Texas, and the Hungry Horse News in Montana.

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